Bookmark your way to APS to get the latest news straight from the source. APS District Web site: Visit www.atlantapublicschools.us. School Web sites: Learn about school events, or check out the “Schools” section of the district Web site. Type www. atlantapublicschools.us Talk Up APS: This continually updated blog serves as a digital newsletter with the latest news, links to media coverage, photo galleries, videos and more. Visit www.TalkUpAPS.com. WPBA 30: View award-winning, educational programming. APS 22: Comcast subscribers in Atlanta can access this station for around-the-clock educational programming. WABE: Atlanta’s National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate offers 24-hours of news, music and community affairs. Facebook: Visit www.facebook.com/ atlantapublicschools. Pinterest: Join APS on the fastest growing social media site online, Pinterest. Over 250 “pins” including websites for students, teacher resources and education news stories. www.pinterest. com/apsupdate Twitter: Visit www.twitter. com, @APSupdate and click “follow.”
Snapshot of the 2011-12 Fiscal Year
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eclining revenues prompted APS leaders to make tough economic decisions with a renewed emphasis on student educational needs. These hard economic realities prompted adoption of a revised district budget mid-year through FY12 with a focus on living within our means and reducing reliance on reserves to fund normal operations. These adjustments to last year’s budget positioned the district to develop a FY13 budget to better meet the needs of our students.
FY12 GENERAL FUND REVENUE SOURCES Total: $578,060,571
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Atlanta Board of Education
Student enrollment 51,283 Elementary schools 50 Middle schools 15 Single-gender academies 4 High schools 21 Nontraditional programs 2 Charter schools 13 Evening school programs 2 Total APS learning sites 103
Other Revenue – $1,500,000 (.2%)
Ethnic Distribution of Students African-American 78% Caucasian 13% Hispanic 6% Multiracial 2% Asian/American Indian/ Alaskan/Other 1%
Fund Balance Transfer – $16,000,000 (3%)
Students eligible for free and reduced priced meals 74.76%
State of Georgia (QBE) – $130,247,925 (22.5%) Federal Sources – $5,000,000 (.8%)
Fast Facts About Atlanta Public Schools 2012-13
(Investment Interest, Rental of Facilities)
LaChandra Butler Burks District 5
Cecily Harsch-Kinnane District 3
Yolanda K. Johnson District 6
Nancy M. Meister District 4
Courtney D. English At-Large Seat 7
Renewing Our
Commitment to You
Scholarships offered to class of 2012 $87 million Number of Title I Schools Charter Schools 8%
FY12 Appropriations
Other Support
Instruction* Svcs 6% Unfunded Pension Maintenance and Charter Schools Operations 12% Other Support Services Maintenance and Operations Business Services Student Transportation School Administration Services General Administration Services
*Instruction includes:
Brenda J. Muhammad District 1
Byron D. Amos, Vice Chair District 2
Number of 2012 graduates 2,093
Local Taxes – $425,312,646 (73.5%)
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Reuben R. McDaniel, III, Chair At-Large Seat 8
Atlanta Public Schools is educating today’s students for tomorrow’s world. We are committed to ensuring that all students graduate from our schools ready for success in college and life.
Unfunded Pension 7% Instruction 55%
Business Services 1% Student Transportation 3%
• Special Education • Pupil Services • Media Services • Alternative and Vocational Education
School Administration Svcs 7%
General Administration Svcs 1%
FY13 General Fund Budget
95
$574 million
Emmett D. Johnson At-Large Seat 9
2 Renewing Our Commitment to You 2011-12 Annual Report Atlanta Public Schools | Office of Communications www.atlantapublicschools.us. Atlanta Public Schools | 130 Trinity Avenue, S.W. | Atlanta, Georgia 30303 | 404.802.3500
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1 Annual Report Atlanta Public Schools 2011-12
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August 10, 2012 Dear APS Supporters,
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PS experienced what is arguably its most challenging year during 2011-12, considering the continued economic downturn, state standardized testing investigation results, accreditation threat, significant personnel changes and a transitioning district leadership team. But we continue to manage our way through these considerable challenges in a manner that I am hopeful will position the organization for an exceptional 2012-13 school year. I believe we have effectively positioned the district to successfully take on the challenges that most certainly lie ahead by developing a realistic budget that forces us to live within our means as opposed to relying on reserves; initiating the first district-wide redistricting in nearly a decade; and transitioning new leadership for the Atlanta Board of Education. We are emphasizing excellence throughout the district this year, starting with the move to the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards that are more rigorous than the former standards and make us part of the nationwide initiative to standardize
instruction that will eventually bring the United States into the 21st Century alongside other modern nations. The Excellence Project will assess every district program’s effectiveness, most especially those that impact student achievement. The renewed emphasis on customer service will enable all employees to provide the kind of consistent, excellent customer service that is the expectation in most industries these days. Last year, we experienced an escalated level of stakeholder involvement at the numerous community and school board meetings and hearings. This input was invaluable in developing our new direction for the future. We are providing more opportunities for continuing and escalating this stakeholder involvement this year with even more collaboration and communication with parents, partners and community members. This will be accomplished with face-to-face meetings, outreach through the district’s established communications vehicles and the use of social media, the latter of which has come into its own over the past year. Restoring and maintaining an organizational culture that emphasizes
integrity and ethical behavior is critical to rebuilding trust and pride with all stakeholders. Mandatory annual ethics training is part of this process, along with the expectation that all supervisors and managers stress strict adherence to these behaviors at staff meetings and daily interactions with employees. We are also putting into place programs and structures to ensure educational equity across the district. Implementation of the cluster model facilitates this effort by fostering a continuity of foreign language courses and other academic programs from Kindergarten through 12th grade. The cluster model also provides for a greater degree of collaboration and professional development among the elementary, middle and high schools within the individual clusters of schools. We are privileged to serve the students, staff, parents, partners and community members who compose the APS family. We look forward to your continued confidence and support during the new school year. Sincerely, Erroll B. Davis, Jr. Superintendent, Atlanta Public Schools
Centralized text book management to ensure equitable distribution of materials
n Refocused the district on ethics, integrity and transparency
Student Achievement
APS replaced K-8 School
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n Student performance improved in several areas of the CRCT since last year
Reform Teams and the Office of High Schools with regions n APS fourth- and eighth- and clusters to create a graders produced the seamless academic and nation’s largest gains in three student support structure of four categories tested on the National Assessment of n Reorganized our Curriculum and Educational Progress Instruction division to ensure quality Atlanta Airport Engineers surprised students at Fain Elementary School when they stopped by during National Engineers Week. Students pored over drafting plans and aerial prints of the Atlanta Airport, while the volunteers explained how engineering solves everyday problems and larger world challenges. They also helped the students build hoop gliders, and emphasized the importance of testing and modifying their designs until the gliders were flawless.
leadership for all school regions
Used stronger security measures for the CRCT to protect the testing environment
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Completed construction and renovations of several facilities: Continental Colony Elementary, Peyton Forest Elementary, Mays High School and Lakewood Stadium
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Great things can be achieved when partners support public education. Atlanta Partners for Education (APFE) matches business and community partners with APS schools to impact student achievement. Visit the new partnership website: www.atlantapartnersforeducation.org
High school students increased achievement in Math 1, Biology, U.S. History, Economics and 9th Grade Literature and Composition on End of Course Tests, which is administered to high school students annually.
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Created a district, cluster and school profile aligned with the College and Career Readiness Performance Index, for better post-secondary preparation. n
Celebrated 30 year partnership with Atlanta Partners For Education. n
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APS students reduced the achievement gap with the state average on End of Course Tests in Math 1 by 3 percentage points and U.S. History by 4 percentage points.
Class of 2012 had more than 2,100 students who received over $86 million in scholarships n
n Invested in Common Core professional learning for teachers, principals and other employees
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n We are placing many more students with disabilities in general education classes.
Established a Professional
Learning Department to support improvement in teacher and leader quality Established daily common planning for all high school teachers to analyze student work, student performance data and adjust instruction based upon findings
Schools are now segmented into nine high school clusters with corresponding middle and elementary schools in each cluster
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Created a Principal Mentor position to support novice principals
Our Vision: The vision of Atlanta Public Schools is to be a student-centered, highperforming urban school district, where all students become successful, life-long learners and leaders.
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Students across APS can attend the district’s single gender academies, B.E.S.T. Academy and Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy n
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n Identified the first cohort of math and science recruits for the new Atlanta Urban Teacher Residency program
Our Mission: Atlanta Public Schools educates all students through academic excellence, preparing them for success in life, service and leadership.
PS community members came together last year to develop measurable goals and strategies to meet the educational needs of our students in keeping with available resources. As a result of these efforts, APS students can look forward to considerable enhancements across the district for the 2012-13 school year. These are a few of the changes and enhancements that will benefit all students.
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Letter from the Superintendent
Organizational Effectiveness
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Quality Workforce
n APS is implementing the Common Core Georgia Standards as a step toward providing a more robust education for students and ensuring comparability across districts and schools
Schools have stronger collaboration and common planning among teachers between school levels n
APS is launching a weekly news show to keep parents informed n
n Rolled out the teacher effectiveness dashboard to every school
All foreign language classes will advance within the same cluster. This will allow our students to continue studying the same language as they matriculate through elementary school, middle school and high school. n
The Excellence Project is helping us identify and implement our most effective initiatives, and eliminate those that distract teachers and impose on their time.
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Through support from The G.E. Foundation a team of APS employees attended a common core conference to learn strategies for teaching the standards and raising student achievement
All schools will have an assistant principal, gifted teachers and student support services. n
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APS has renewed its commitment to provide consistent excellent customer service to all stakeholders. We are improving our educational services for students by redirecting more resources to schools in a manner that is exceptional, engaging, ethical and equitable.
New at APS in 2012-2013
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Renewing Our Commitment to You
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Students in every APS cluster will have equal access to multiple languages
All middle schools will offer accelerated math n
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